Oregon Legislators Push To Lower Voting Age To 16

In the never ending race to the bottom, Oregon state senator Shemia Fagan is introducing legislation that would lower the voting age in the state to 16.

Citing abortion and stripping away 2nd Amendment rights, Fagan introduced the legislation on Monday, at the behest of doorbelling-for-democrats operation known as the Bus Project.

Oregon Public Broadcasting reports:

“It’s time to lower the voting age in Oregon and to give our young people a chance to participate in the ballot, about their decisions that affect their homes, their clean air, their future, their schools and as we’ve seen, their very lives,” Fagan said.

The state senator pointed to the young activists who became engaged after the Parkland shooting in Florida, which left 17 people dead. They proved young people are active and should have a right to vote, Fagan said.

Several teenagers spoke in favor of the measure alongside Fagan on Monday at the Capitol.

“Why can I drive like an adult, pay taxes like an adult, have an abortion like an adult, be charged and sentenced like an adult, but I can’t vote like an adult?” asked Christine Bynum, a student at La Salle High School.

“We’re experts of our own experiences,” said Connor Gabor.

People are being sexually assaulted in their schools, Gabor said. People are being shot. Yet, they can’t vote for school board members or lawmakers, he said.

Senate Republican Leader Herman Baertschiger, Jr., R-Grants Pass, said 16-years-old is too young to vote. 

“… (They) are too young to enlist in the military, too young to own firearms, too young to own property, too young to enter into legal contracts, and too young to get married. But they are old enough to vote? People are not legally considered adults in this country until they are 18 years old, and I believe they shouldn’t be able to vote until then either. This is nothing more than an attempt to expand the voter rolls to sway elections,” he said. 

The Statesman Journal adds:

Several state lawmakers are introducing a bill that would ask voters to amend the Oregon Constitution to lower the voting age from 18 to 16 years old.

If the bill passes, the question would go to voters in the 2020 general election. The proposal would make Oregon the first in the nation to lower the statewide voting age to 16 years old.

Legislators backing the bill, including Sen. Shemia Fagan, D-Portland, held a press conference with high school students Monday at the Capitol to announce the legislation.

Fagan said 16- and 17-year-olds are affected by life-and-death issues that impact their future, a point driven home by the 2018 Parkland shooting at a Florida high school.

“Sixteen-year-olds are subject to our criminal justice system,” Fagan said. “They are couch surfing with friends while their families experience homelessness and they’re begging us to take action to protect their future.”

Not only are the democrats targeting more naive voters, but this is partially in response to the pushback against a massive gun grab bill, that was supposedly written by high schoolers. SB501 would turn gun owners in criminals if someone steals their gun, limit the amount of ammo one can buy to just 20 rounds a month, require background checks for purchasing ammo, and require jail time for anyone who who doesn’t turn in magazines that hold more than 5 rounds. Since many have criticized the gun bill as being written by 16 year olds to tell adults what they and can’t do, democrats are now trying to adult-ize the kids.

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